What He Never Knew (What He Doesn't Know, #3)(106)
Patricia Leibowitz — AKA QUEEN MINTNESS — I have to give you a huge, HUGE shout out for your help in this book. Not only were you instrumental in some of the big changes, but you are the ONLY beta reader who also read through the entire thing AGAIN after I made all the edits. You love this story and these characters just as much as I do, and your emotion while reading gave me life. I seriously cannot imagine doing this without you. I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.
To my amazing team of beta readers: Kellee Fabre, Sarah Green, Danielle Lagasse, Ashlei Davison, Jess Vogel, and Sahar Bagheri — YOU ARE THE BEST TEAM TO EVER EXIST. Seriously. Some of you read as I wrote, others read at the end, but ALL of you provided the best feedback that helped transform this book into the final product. I am so thankful for all of your time, care, and feedback.
To the most amazing, patient, hard working and bad ass assistant to ever exist — Christina Stokes — I don’t even have the right words for you. Between hunting for stock photos for our teasers and finding copy to share on various social outlets to reading the story and petting my hair in times of need, you do it all. You do it ALL. Even before I ask, even before I KNOW that I need something, you do it. I cannot tell you how much stress you take away from my life, how much comfort and joy you bring me, and more than anything, how happy my heart is when I am around you. I am so lucky to not only have you on my work team, but to be able to call you my friend. Let’s travel the world together. I love you!
Shout out to Sasha Erramouspe and Gabby Waltz for charlie reading this one. You both brought me so much relief that I had done what I’d set out to do, and your final feedback was like the little bow on top of this story. SORRY FOR MAKING YOU CRY, SASHA, but just know I love you more than whiskey — and we both know that means a LOT.
I have the absolute best editor in the entire world in Elaine York from Allusion Graphics. Thank you, my friend, for always working with my changing timelines, for sending me love notes as you read, and for helping me polish this to a high shine. You are an instrumental part of my team now and for always.
To the most wonderful PR crew: Nina Grinstead, Hilary Suppes, Chanpreet Singh, and the rest of the team at Social Butterfly PR — thank you for always helping me promote the fuck out of my books. Your fresh ideas and constant attention to detail are just some of the reasons I’m happy to have you on my team.
Flavia Viotti is my incredible agent, and I could never thank her enough for all the work she does for me — especially on the foreign and audio market. Thank you for hustling just as hard as I do to make our dreams come true, Flavia. I love you!
A huge shout out to Lauren Perry of Perrywinkle Photography and to Dale, the model on the cover of What He Never Knew. You both made my vision come to life and I am so thankful!
I always have to thank Angie Doyle McKeon for just… well, for just loving me. I always look forward to our conversations about life, love, family, the book industry and more. And I LOVE how passionate you are about reading my books and spreading the word so others read them, too. My little bumble bee forever and ever. I adore you.
Thank you to everyone in my special corner of the Facebook world — Kandiland. Your constant posts of love and motivation keep me going. I love that we have such a safe place to talk about books we love, and I hope we just continue to grow and grow. Don’t ever leave me. I love y’all!
Lastly, but NEVER least, I want to thank you — the reader. If you’ve made it all the way to the bottom of my acknowledgements, you’re seriously a rare gem that I am so thankful has stumbled upon my words. Writing is personal. Reading is personal. And I’m honored that you chose my book, trusted me to take you on this adventure, and I hope you loved it as much as I did. Thank you for reading, reviewing, sharing your love of my books with your friends, tagging me on social media so I can geek out with you LOL. I just… I love all of you so much and I could not do this without you. Truly. Without you, my life would lack purpose and passion. Thank you for being on this incredible journey with me.
And now, the first chapter of The Wrong Game — Kandi Steiner’s bestselling angsty, sexy, and fun sports romance. Available in Kindle Unlimited.
Gemma
This is not the conversation we were supposed to have.
On the drive home, I saw every word that would form. I saw how they would be born, first in my mind and then in my mouth, each one standing strong and brave as it slipped from my lips and landed on his ears.
I knew what I’d say. I knew what he’d say. I had a plan.
My particular brand of anxiety was having an ungodly amount of stress over that which I could not control. It’d been this way since I was a young girl, and it’d only worsened with age. I made lists, and plans, and deadlines. I gave myself goals, and when I met them, I celebrated only long enough for me to decide what I would tackle next on the list.
It was all about being in control.
So, unlike a normal woman discovering her husband’s infidelity, I did not cry or scream or throw objects across the room when I learned the truth. No, instead, when I found the first sign of his indiscretions, I made a check list. And I checked items off that list with a mixture of both dread and satisfaction.
Perfume that wasn’t mine staining his shirt? Check.
Text messages from an unknown number, slipping through the cracks of my husband’s technology-ignorant fingers onto our shared computer, but missing from his phone? Check.